I can really relate to Seth's story, and I just finished reading his book. I'm 45 years old, and it was 2 years ago when I told my wife I was no longer a Christian, and reject anything supernatural. I grew up going to a Presbyterian church every Sunday and was involved in the Youth Group, and Young Life in High School. I attended a Christian College, and met my wife in church, and we stayed involved in small group Bible Studies, and the whole thing.

Fast forward to 10 years ago. Married with 2 kids, and we moved across the country for a job. The first thing we did was join a big evangelical non-denominational church. My wife taught Sunday School with the kids, and I often attended an adult Sunday School class.

I can't recall the exact thing that started me down the road to really questioning my beliefs, but there were several key things:

One Sunday I was sitting in my wife's Sunday School Class, and she held the bible up and said to the children: "This is the word of God, and everything in this book is true." This was something the church required the Sunday School teachers to say. I had to admit to myself right there that I didn't think the whole bible was literal, so I shouldn't be teaching my kids that.

Another thing that happened in that Church was about the time the Dover Trial was going on, a church member (who was a high school math teacher) gave a class on Intelligent Design. My B.S. meter was going off, and I just wasn't buying it.

My sister and brother-in-law went to the same bible college where William Lane Craig is a professor, and they are now Christian Missionaries. They home school their kids and when I visited them, they had a "World History" timeline that went back 7000 years. This was a big WTF moment.

My mom came to visit the Grandkids and brought a CD from the Discovery Institute to show them. O Hell No!

A few things like this got me wanting to learn more about evolution, so I started reading books and watching videos on science, religion, and philosophy. Richard Dawkins, Hitchens, Harris, Dennet, Bertrand Russell, Dan Barker, and Thomas Paine. Paine's idea that "a supernatural revelations to one person is just 2nd hand hearsay to the rest of the people they tell" was one of the things that really connected with me, and I was through with supernatural thinking. There was no going back.

Two years ago on Valentines day, I was telling my wife that I was against all they anti-evolution stuff being pushed by my mom. She then said to me point blank “Do you still consider yourself to be a Christian?” I said, “not in the way I used to be. Not in any orthodox way. I’m sure there are people who call themselves Christian who think Jesus was a good guy, and did some good things, but don’t believe in and supernatural stuff. In that sense I could be, but in reality, I don’t believe.”

She asked me lots of questions, and after watching some of the videos, and reading some books that I read, became an atheist in a few days. She said she felt like a set of blinders had been removed.

I came out to my Mom and sister/brother-in-law not too long after in a letter. So far they have been cool, and there are some questions, but I'm more surprised by the lack of interest in why I came to this conclusion. They are happy in their delusion, and they live far away, so I don't have a lot of interaction, which is a good thing in many ways.

Now I love science, taking my family all the great museums in the Northeast, go on hikes, and bike rides on Sunday Mornings. I've attended a couple Atheist and Humanist meetups, but they seem more activist oriented, and I'm not sure that is my thing. New England is pretty non-religious to begin with, so most people I go hiking or biking with are not religious anyway.

Welcome! It sounds like you have had quite the journey! I am glad that it didn't go poorly for you with your wife when you told her. If I might ask, how are your children taking it?

A resource you might be interested in (not sure if they are in your area) for your children is Camp Quest. It's a secular summer camp that has a lot of fun and games, but also science related activities and critical thinking.

My kids who are 12 and 14 now are doing great without religious indoctrination. I'm a big fan of Dale McGowen's book "Parenting Beyond Belief", and I've kind of taken his approach. We had stopped going regularly to church about 5 years ago, and we never really did any strong fundamentalist indoctrination with them. For them, they learned some stuff in Sunday School, but never were seriously indoctrinated like I was growing up. I'm kind of glad they had some exposure to it, and they even were in a church play about Moses, so they know some of the Bible stories. Neither kid really had any close friends from church, so they didn't really miss it.

We live in New England, which is not a very religious area. My older daughter's best friend is Catholic, and I think she was asking my daughter why she didn't go to confession or something like that. My daughter didn't really know what to say. She asked me if she could just say she was Protestant, I think just so she could keep her friend from bugging her about going to her church. I told her she can say anything she wants, and doesn't need to make any decision about religion and can change her mind as many times as she wants.

We try to do a weekly family night where we watch a movie or documentary with a religious or scientific theme so we can discuss lots of different religions (so they don't learn there is something special about one of them), and learn about science, and just hopefully bring out their curiosity (something religion likes to take away from children).

It's funny you should bring up summer camps. One of the things that made me come out to my Mom was that she had set aside money to help send the the grand kids to Christian Summer camps, and I was never taking the money, so she started asking questions. She was cool though and let me use the money to send them to Girl Scout camp, which is pretty secular, even though they did say a pretty tame prayer before meals.

Good stuff man. We have been working on compiling a Community Resource, with lots of helpful links. If you have found anything that has been helpful to you that is not on the list, please feel free to submit a link in the thread.

There are several links to documentaries that are on YouTube, that deal with religion. Maybe you'll find an interesting one there to share with your family.

I can really relate to Seth's story, and I just finished reading his book. I'm 45 years old, and it was 2 years ago when I told my wife I was no longer a Christian, and reject anything supernatural. I grew up going to a Presbyterian church every Sunday and was involved in the Youth Group, and Young Life in High School. I attended a Christian College, and met my wife in church, and we stayed involved in small group Bible Studies, and the whole thing.

Fast forward to 10 years ago. Married with 2 kids, and we moved across the country for a job. The first thing we did was join a big evangelical non-denominational church. My wife taught Sunday School with the kids, and I often attended an adult Sunday School class.

I can't recall the exact thing that started me down the road to really questioning my beliefs, but there were several key things:

One Sunday I was sitting in my wife's Sunday School Class, and she held the bible up and said to the children: "This is the word of God, and everything in this book is true." This was something the church required the Sunday School teachers to say. I had to admit to myself right there that I didn't think the whole bible was literal, so I shouldn't be teaching my kids that.

Another thing that happened in that Church was about the time the Dover Trial was going on, a church member (who was a high school math teacher) gave a class on Intelligent Design. My B.S. meter was going off, and I just wasn't buying it.

My sister and brother-in-law went to the same bible college where William Lane Craig is a professor, and they are now Christian Missionaries. They home school their kids and when I visited them, they had a "World History" timeline that went back 7000 years. This was a big WTF moment.

My mom came to visit the Grandkids and brought a CD from the Discovery Institute to show them. O Hell No!

A few things like this got me wanting to learn more about evolution, so I started reading books and watching videos on science, religion, and philosophy. Richard Dawkins, Hitchens, Harris, Dennet, Bertrand Russell, Dan Barker, and Thomas Paine. Paine's idea that "a supernatural revelations to one person is just 2nd hand hearsay to the rest of the people they tell" was one of the things that really connected with me, and I was through with supernatural thinking. There was no going back.

Two years ago on Valentines day, I was telling my wife that I was against all they anti-evolution stuff being pushed by my mom. She then said to me point blank “Do you still consider yourself to be a Christian?” I said, “not in the way I used to be. Not in any orthodox way. I’m sure there are people who call themselves Christian who think Jesus was a good guy, and did some good things, but don’t believe in and supernatural stuff. In that sense I could be, but in reality, I don’t believe.”

She asked me lots of questions, and after watching some of the videos, and reading some books that I read, became an atheist in a few days. She said she felt like a set of blinders had been removed.

I came out to my Mom and sister/brother-in-law not too long after in a letter. So far they have been cool, and there are some questions, but I'm more surprised by the lack of interest in why I came to this conclusion. They are happy in their delusion, and they live far away, so I don't have a lot of interaction, which is a good thing in many ways.

Now I love science, taking my family all the great museums in the Northeast, go on hikes, and bike rides on Sunday Mornings. I've attended a couple Atheist and Humanist meetups, but they seem more activist oriented, and I'm not sure that is my thing. New England is pretty non-religious to begin with, so most people I go hiking or biking with are not religious anyway.

Looking forward to participating in this Forum more.

ReasonQuest

Welcome!!!

But as if to knock me down, reality came around
And without so much as a mere touch, cut me into little pieces

I can really relate to Seth's story, and I just finished reading his book. I'm 45 years old, and it was 2 years ago when I told my wife I was no longer a Christian, and reject anything supernatural. I grew up going to a Presbyterian church every Sunday and was involved in the Youth Group, and Young Life in High School. I attended a Christian College, and met my wife in church, and we stayed involved in small group Bible Studies, and the whole thing.

Fast forward to 10 years ago. Married with 2 kids, and we moved across the country for a job. The first thing we did was join a big evangelical non-denominational church. My wife taught Sunday School with the kids, and I often attended an adult Sunday School class.

I can't recall the exact thing that started me down the road to really questioning my beliefs, but there were several key things:

One Sunday I was sitting in my wife's Sunday School Class, and she held the bible up and said to the children: "This is the word of God, and everything in this book is true." This was something the church required the Sunday School teachers to say. I had to admit to myself right there that I didn't think the whole bible was literal, so I shouldn't be teaching my kids that.

Another thing that happened in that Church was about the time the Dover Trial was going on, a church member (who was a high school math teacher) gave a class on Intelligent Design. My B.S. meter was going off, and I just wasn't buying it.

My sister and brother-in-law went to the same bible college where William Lane Craig is a professor, and they are now Christian Missionaries. They home school their kids and when I visited them, they had a "World History" timeline that went back 7000 years. This was a big WTF moment.

My mom came to visit the Grandkids and brought a CD from the Discovery Institute to show them. O Hell No!

A few things like this got me wanting to learn more about evolution, so I started reading books and watching videos on science, religion, and philosophy. Richard Dawkins, Hitchens, Harris, Dennet, Bertrand Russell, Dan Barker, and Thomas Paine. Paine's idea that "a supernatural revelations to one person is just 2nd hand hearsay to the rest of the people they tell" was one of the things that really connected with me, and I was through with supernatural thinking. There was no going back.

Two years ago on Valentines day, I was telling my wife that I was against all they anti-evolution stuff being pushed by my mom. She then said to me point blank “Do you still consider yourself to be a Christian?” I said, “not in the way I used to be. Not in any orthodox way. I’m sure there are people who call themselves Christian who think Jesus was a good guy, and did some good things, but don’t believe in and supernatural stuff. In that sense I could be, but in reality, I don’t believe.”

She asked me lots of questions, and after watching some of the videos, and reading some books that I read, became an atheist in a few days. She said she felt like a set of blinders had been removed.

I came out to my Mom and sister/brother-in-law not too long after in a letter. So far they have been cool, and there are some questions, but I'm more surprised by the lack of interest in why I came to this conclusion. They are happy in their delusion, and they live far away, so I don't have a lot of interaction, which is a good thing in many ways.

Now I love science, taking my family all the great museums in the Northeast, go on hikes, and bike rides on Sunday Mornings. I've attended a couple Atheist and Humanist meetups, but they seem more activist oriented, and I'm not sure that is my thing. New England is pretty non-religious to begin with, so most people I go hiking or biking with are not religious anyway.

Looking forward to participating in this Forum more.

ReasonQuest

Hi! I'm totally brand new here!
Crawled on my hands and knees to this forum after going nuts on a Catholic forum all year, trying to talk reason and sense to everyone. Soon as I got here and read some posts----Aaahhhhhh! Sigh of relief!
So...how do I find the post from this "Seth" that you and a few others say they relate to? I can't seem to find it on this thread...still trying to navigate around and get the lay of the land...

I can really relate to Seth's story, and I just finished reading his book. I'm 45 years old, and it was 2 years ago when I told my wife I was no longer a Christian, and reject anything supernatural. I grew up going to a Presbyterian church every Sunday and was involved in the Youth Group, and Young Life in High School. I attended a Christian College, and met my wife in church, and we stayed involved in small group Bible Studies, and the whole thing.

Fast forward to 10 years ago. Married with 2 kids, and we moved across the country for a job. The first thing we did was join a big evangelical non-denominational church. My wife taught Sunday School with the kids, and I often attended an adult Sunday School class.

I can't recall the exact thing that started me down the road to really questioning my beliefs, but there were several key things:

One Sunday I was sitting in my wife's Sunday School Class, and she held the bible up and said to the children: "This is the word of God, and everything in this book is true." This was something the church required the Sunday School teachers to say. I had to admit to myself right there that I didn't think the whole bible was literal, so I shouldn't be teaching my kids that.

Another thing that happened in that Church was about the time the Dover Trial was going on, a church member (who was a high school math teacher) gave a class on Intelligent Design. My B.S. meter was going off, and I just wasn't buying it.

My sister and brother-in-law went to the same bible college where William Lane Craig is a professor, and they are now Christian Missionaries. They home school their kids and when I visited them, they had a "World History" timeline that went back 7000 years. This was a big WTF moment.

My mom came to visit the Grandkids and brought a CD from the Discovery Institute to show them. O Hell No!

A few things like this got me wanting to learn more about evolution, so I started reading books and watching videos on science, religion, and philosophy. Richard Dawkins, Hitchens, Harris, Dennet, Bertrand Russell, Dan Barker, and Thomas Paine. Paine's idea that "a supernatural revelations to one person is just 2nd hand hearsay to the rest of the people they tell" was one of the things that really connected with me, and I was through with supernatural thinking. There was no going back.

Two years ago on Valentines day, I was telling my wife that I was against all they anti-evolution stuff being pushed by my mom. She then said to me point blank “Do you still consider yourself to be a Christian?” I said, “not in the way I used to be. Not in any orthodox way. I’m sure there are people who call themselves Christian who think Jesus was a good guy, and did some good things, but don’t believe in and supernatural stuff. In that sense I could be, but in reality, I don’t believe.”

She asked me lots of questions, and after watching some of the videos, and reading some books that I read, became an atheist in a few days. She said she felt like a set of blinders had been removed.

I came out to my Mom and sister/brother-in-law not too long after in a letter. So far they have been cool, and there are some questions, but I'm more surprised by the lack of interest in why I came to this conclusion. They are happy in their delusion, and they live far away, so I don't have a lot of interaction, which is a good thing in many ways.

Now I love science, taking my family all the great museums in the Northeast, go on hikes, and bike rides on Sunday Mornings. I've attended a couple Atheist and Humanist meetups, but they seem more activist oriented, and I'm not sure that is my thing. New England is pretty non-religious to begin with, so most people I go hiking or biking with are not religious anyway.

Looking forward to participating in this Forum more.

ReasonQuest

Hi! I'm totally brand new here!
Crawled on my hands and knees to this forum after going nuts on a Catholic forum all year, trying to talk reason and sense to everyone. Soon as I got here and read some posts----Aaahhhhhh! Sigh of relief!
So...how do I find the post from this "Seth" that you and a few others say they relate to? I can't seem to find it on this thread...still trying to navigate around and get the lay of the land...

Seth founded the web site and no longer posts here much, if ever. Go here.

And welcome to the forum.

Skepticism is not a position; it is an approach to claims.
Science is not a subject, but a method.

I can really relate to Seth's story, and I just finished reading his book. I'm 45 years old, and it was 2 years ago when I told my wife I was no longer a Christian, and reject anything supernatural. I grew up going to a Presbyterian church every Sunday and was involved in the Youth Group, and Young Life in High School. I attended a Christian College, and met my wife in church, and we stayed involved in small group Bible Studies, and the whole thing.

Fast forward to 10 years ago. Married with 2 kids, and we moved across the country for a job. The first thing we did was join a big evangelical non-denominational church. My wife taught Sunday School with the kids, and I often attended an adult Sunday School class.

I can't recall the exact thing that started me down the road to really questioning my beliefs, but there were several key things:

One Sunday I was sitting in my wife's Sunday School Class, and she held the bible up and said to the children: "This is the word of God, and everything in this book is true." This was something the church required the Sunday School teachers to say. I had to admit to myself right there that I didn't think the whole bible was literal, so I shouldn't be teaching my kids that.

Another thing that happened in that Church was about the time the Dover Trial was going on, a church member (who was a high school math teacher) gave a class on Intelligent Design. My B.S. meter was going off, and I just wasn't buying it.

My sister and brother-in-law went to the same bible college where William Lane Craig is a professor, and they are now Christian Missionaries. They home school their kids and when I visited them, they had a "World History" timeline that went back 7000 years. This was a big WTF moment.

My mom came to visit the Grandkids and brought a CD from the Discovery Institute to show them. O Hell No!

A few things like this got me wanting to learn more about evolution, so I started reading books and watching videos on science, religion, and philosophy. Richard Dawkins, Hitchens, Harris, Dennet, Bertrand Russell, Dan Barker, and Thomas Paine. Paine's idea that "a supernatural revelations to one person is just 2nd hand hearsay to the rest of the people they tell" was one of the things that really connected with me, and I was through with supernatural thinking. There was no going back.

Two years ago on Valentines day, I was telling my wife that I was against all they anti-evolution stuff being pushed by my mom. She then said to me point blank “Do you still consider yourself to be a Christian?” I said, “not in the way I used to be. Not in any orthodox way. I’m sure there are people who call themselves Christian who think Jesus was a good guy, and did some good things, but don’t believe in and supernatural stuff. In that sense I could be, but in reality, I don’t believe.”

She asked me lots of questions, and after watching some of the videos, and reading some books that I read, became an atheist in a few days. She said she felt like a set of blinders had been removed.

I came out to my Mom and sister/brother-in-law not too long after in a letter. So far they have been cool, and there are some questions, but I'm more surprised by the lack of interest in why I came to this conclusion. They are happy in their delusion, and they live far away, so I don't have a lot of interaction, which is a good thing in many ways.

Now I love science, taking my family all the great museums in the Northeast, go on hikes, and bike rides on Sunday Mornings. I've attended a couple Atheist and Humanist meetups, but they seem more activist oriented, and I'm not sure that is my thing. New England is pretty non-religious to begin with, so most people I go hiking or biking with are not religious anyway.

Looking forward to participating in this Forum more.

ReasonQuest

Oops! As per my previous post, it only took a quick google search to discover who "Seth" is. Got it!